Matt Ehalt on Mets: Sandy Alderson not rushing trading game

GM Sandy Alderson said the off-season is the best time for the Mets to consider trading one of their top prospects.

After the Mets made no moves at the trade deadline for the third straight year, general manager Sandy Alderson said any significant transactions would have required the team relinquishing top prospects from their strong farm system.

On Thursday, Alderson was unwilling to do that. That might not be the case, however, once this season concludes and the Mets aim to load up for 2015.

"I actually think that if we’re going to trade some of our young prospects, that we’re probably better off doing that in the off-season," Alderson said on a conference call Thursday. "In some ways we don’t want to limit ourselves to the options that are available now as opposed to what we think may be available in the off-season."

As tough as it is for teams to relinquish the top prospects they’ve developed, for the Mets it will be a crucial step in their pursuit of becoming contenders. The team has shown in recent years it will not be active in free agency, which limits its options.

Despite the team overachieving thus far this season, the Mets still are a bat or two away from being true threats in the National League. The offense has been inconsistent all season, and has not received steady production from its left fielders or shortstops. Those likely would be the two positions the Mets would seek to upgrade this season.

With a strong number of prospects — including starter Jacob deGrom and Class AAA Las Vegas prospects Noah Syndergaard and catcher Kevin Plawecki — the Mets are in position to likely meet any demands other teams have to acquire an elite player, such as Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and left fielder Carlos Gonzalez.

"As I’ve been talking about this entire second half of the season I think we’re getting close to that where we are a piece or two away," Mets third baseman David Wright said.

The Mets originally intended for 2014 to be the season they made a push to reclaim the NL East for the first time 2006, but an injury to Matt Harvey derailed those plans.

With the development of players like Lucas Duda, Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia, the Mets have reason to expect they can challenge Atlanta and Washington next season — provided the roster gets at least that one piece to significantly bolster the team.

Matt Ehalt on Mets: Sandy Alderson not rushing trading game

GM Sandy Alderson said the off-season is the best time for the Mets to consider trading one of their top prospects.

By MATT EHALT

STAFF WRITER |

The Record

The stage is set for the off-season.

After the Mets made no moves at the trade deadline for the third straight year, general manager Sandy Alderson said any significant transactions would have required the team relinquishing top prospects from their strong farm system.

On Thursday, Alderson was unwilling to do that. That might not be the case, however, once this season concludes and the Mets aim to load up for 2015.

"I actually think that if we’re going to trade some of our young prospects, that we’re probably better off doing that in the off-season," Alderson said on a conference call Thursday. "In some ways we don’t want to limit ourselves to the options that are available now as opposed to what we think may be available in the off-season."

As tough as it is for teams to relinquish the top prospects they’ve developed, for the Mets it will be a crucial step in their pursuit of becoming contenders. The team has shown in recent years it will not be active in free agency, which limits its options.

Despite the team overachieving thus far this season, the Mets still are a bat or two away from being true threats in the National League. The offense has been inconsistent all season, and has not received steady production from its left fielders or shortstops. Those likely would be the two positions the Mets would seek to upgrade this season.

With a strong number of prospects — including starter Jacob deGrom and Class AAA Las Vegas prospects Noah Syndergaard and catcher Kevin Plawecki — the Mets are in position to likely meet any demands other teams have to acquire an elite player, such as Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and left fielder Carlos Gonzalez.

"As I’ve been talking about this entire second half of the season I think we’re getting close to that where we are a piece or two away," Mets third baseman David Wright said.

The Mets originally intended for 2014 to be the season they made a push to reclaim the NL East for the first time 2006, but an injury to Matt Harvey derailed those plans.

With the development of players like Lucas Duda, Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia, the Mets have reason to expect they can challenge Atlanta and Washington next season — provided the roster gets at least that one piece to significantly bolster the team.